Second Chances
by LillieGranger-Agreste
Summary: Marinette's confessed her feelings for Adrien and Adrien's so surprised he doesn't know what to do and Marinette gets upset. A year after that and the two teens are still working out their feelings for each other which could lead them to reveal their identities. Pretty fluffy. Feel free to leave a review. Oh yeah and I don't own miraculous ladybug haha
1. The Realisation

"Until next time then, my Lady", the cat sighed.

Marinette had hoped Chat would eventually learn to understand and value her friendship but her rejection had rendered Chat Noir into a shadow of his fomer self. When they first met what seemed like a lifetime ago but was in reality no more than a few years Chat Noir had always seemed confident, always with a smile but recently Marinette struggled to remember the last time he had smiled or even unleashed some silly, childish pun. She missed the puns now. She couldn't bear it anymore. The guilt of seeing Chat Noir like this and knowing it was her fault ate away at her. She had to say something.

"Chat Noir, wait.", Marinette fiddled with her yo-yo nervously, "I… well, I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you. I care about you, quite a lot actually, but I can't love you because I'm in love with this other boy, you know that. Maybe if things were different, we'd have a chance but I can't imagine a world without him and that won't change. I'm sorry."

It was so typically Ladybug to apologise for something like love. The words should have been comforting but they only deepened the pain Adrien felt. He knew why Ladybug had rejected him but it didn't make it hurt less. He clenched his jaw and considered his next words carefully, their relationship was on a knife's edge as it was. If he lost Ladybug, he'd lose the last person who cared about him.

"I understand Ladybug. I always did. But I can't stop having feelings for you. This other boy… he's lucky to have you."

Adrien didn't say that saving Paris was the only thing that gave his life meaning and that sometimes, although he would feel guilty afterwards, he hoped an akuma would show up just so he could see Ladybug again. That despite what she thought, she was the only girl he had ever loved, and ever would love. And that he loved everything about her.

Marinette didn't say that 'this other boy' had rejected her last year. Well not exactly, but when she'd finally confessed her feelings to Adrien, he'd just stood there, blank. She must have been so repulsive to him that the idea of her loving him had sent him into shock. Thankfully, Marinette heard a beeping in her ear, signalling the end of her time as Ladybug and stopping her from revisiting that painful memory.

"Thank you Chat Noir, for understanding. I just hate to think that I'm the reason you're so unhappy. I'm about to detransform, I'll see you around."

She caught her yo-yo on the Eiffel Tower and swung away.

The next day, Adrien struggled to get out of bed, the chill of the morning air making him shiver. He hadn't slept all night. Ladybug's words played over and over again in his mind. From when he ate his breakfast to when he entered the school building, he thought about what she had said. 'I can't imagine a world without him'. Ladybug really cared about this boy but what if the feelings weren't mutual? He couldn't bare to see Ladybug go through what he went through. He spent the whole morning trying to come up with a plan for how he would find out who this boy was but at the moment all he could think of was to ask Ladybug nicely and of course she would say no. It was one of their golden rules, never reveal anything about your civilian personal life, including the people you cared about. That was when he saw Marinette talking to Alya.

"Alya, I'm not making hundreds of croissants for your and Nino's anniversary. Even if it is quite romantic, I couldn't do it for tomorrow!"

"Relax girl, I was kidding!", Alya giggled, "I think we're gonna keep things casual this year. Besides, croissants are more Adrien's thing, wouldn't you say?"

Marinette blinked back the tears she felt coming at the mention of his name and glared jokingly at Alya.

"I'll forget you said that, Alya.", she faked a laugh.

"Seriously girl, you can't stay mad at him forever. He was shocked. We all were. And he did try to apologise." Alya said despairingly.

"Giving me a flower at the school dance is not an apology and it certainly doesn't take back the hours I wasted loving him!"

"First of all, those hours weren't wasted because it's obvious he cares about you just as I know you still care about him. Second of all, Nino and I need you to be together because you're going to be the godparents of any future children we have so just talk to him. It's been a year!"

Marinette couldn't help but laugh at that and deep down, she accepted that she still loved Adrien. She had never actually stopped. And she still held hope that maybe one day Adrien would change his mind and feel the same way.

She was laughing, just laughing, yet Adrien felt something that he'd only ever felt with one other person. 'How?' was all he could think. Marinette was amazing sure, she was by far the kindest, funniest and most creative person in the entire school but had Adrien actually fallen in love with her? It was an odd feeling, he'd never thought about Marinette like that. When he found out she had a crush on him, he was in such a state of shock that he went blank. Marinette had taken his silence the wrong way and they'd never been the same since. And now he understood how she had felt before that fateful day, he felt it too. But that left so many questions. What about Ladybug? Did Marinette still feel the way she always had about him? He risked another glance at her and all thoughts of Ladybug vanished. That was enough for Adrien to know. He never expected it but there was no denying that he was undoubtedly, entirely, positively in love with Marinette. He knew she had felt that way about him once, was there a chance that she still did?


	2. The Reveal

Chapter 2

Marinette caught sight of Adrien. He was staring at her almost in the way she used to stare at him. No, that had to be a mistake. Adrien hadn't talked to her in ages and there was no way-

"Hey Marinette, can we talk?", Adrien's eyes were pleading, almost puppy-like.

Talk? He wanted to talk? After everything that happened she thought Adrien would never talk to her again and now that was exactly what he was asking.

"Y-yes.", was all she could say.

They left the crowded corridor and went into the art studio. Marinette knew it was always empty at this time and that was when she did her best work. She started sketching some ideas for a coat in her sketchbook, undeterred by Adrien's intense stare. It slightly amused her that when she caught his eye she could see a faint blush creeping up his cheeks. He peered over her shoulder to look at what she was drawing.

"You're really talented, did you know that?", he said uneasily.

"Considering I won your father's derby hat competition that shouldn't be such a surprise."

Adrien smiled. Marinette was beginning to like how close he was to her. She'd never thought Adrien would keep himself so close to her again after what happened the year before. It was amazing how comfortable the whole thing felt. When Adrien asked to talk she expected awkwardness, maybe even to be angry at him but this, this was nice. They found themselves staring at each other for a few blissful seconds before Adrien broke the silence.

"I'm so stupid."

Marinette didn't know how to reply to that. They had both been stupid, she knew that much. Adrien had been completely oblivious to her feelings and she had completely over-reacted.

"All this time you were in love with me and I had no idea.", Adrien continued, struggling to say the next bit, "W-When you told me, I was so surprised, I couldn't even process it and then you started crying and I-I didn't know what to do. But I know now that I love you. It took a while but what I feel for you, it can't be anything but love. I know you felt that way once, you told me so yourself, is there anyway you could feel that way again?"

"Adrien. I never stopped.", came Marinette's reply.

Their hands intertwined and didn't separate until they had to take their seats for the next lesson.

That night, another akuma was released. It was difficult but Chat Noir and Ladybug managed to defeat it without the help of Rena Rouge, Queen Bee or Carapace. The victim was XY so needless to say, they ditched him pretty quickly. Once they'd made sure he was safely home, they found themselves at the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was the best vantage point for the nightly patrols and it gave them a chance to rest after exhausting themselves fighting the akuma. The scene down below was quite calm, cars the size of ants drove slowly along vein-like roads, a gentle breeze shaking the trees around them just ever so slightly.

"You're smiling tonight Chaton. What happened?", asked Ladybug, delighted that her partner no longer suffered with a heavy heart.

"I realised that I was in love with a girl who loved me back.", Chat replied. "She's truly incredible. The thing is, she asked me out last year and it did not go well so I'm just glad she gave me a second chance is all. You'd like her you know; she's a creative type. She designed an album cover for Jagged Stone and even made a derby hat for Gabriel Agreste, I wore- I mean Adrien Agreste wore it himself. And she has these blue eyes that are just so full of kindness it makes your heart melt, not to mention her hair is as enticing as the night. Oh and she always smells amazing, she owns a bakery you see, like warm chocolate chip cookies fresh out of an oven."

Adrien would have continued on and on saying all the things he loved about Marinette but his attention was diverted to the beeping of his ring. He was about to detransform. Getting ready to run into the night, he suddenly felt a hand rest on his wrist. It wasn't a firm grip but enough to make him pause.

"Stay.", Ladybug pleaded. "Please. I need to see something."

All the things Chat had said, they were either things about Marinette or her accomplishments. It was almost enough to make her laugh because that would mean that the girl Chat had confessed his love to was her and the only person who asked her out that day was Adrien. Chat Noir was surely not Adrien, not _her_ Adrien. There was only one way to find out.

"My Lady ? I thought you said we can't reveal our identities to each oth-", was all Chat Noir managed to get out before he turned into Adrien Agreste.

Adrien had imagined this scenario a thousand times yet nothing came close to the real thing. In his dreams, Ladybug either ran away screaming or kissed him. Right now, she was doing neither.

It was all Marinette could do to stare. Sweet, innocent Adrien, her boyfriend as of today, was the pun-spewing, cocky and atrociously flirtatious Chat Noir. There had to be a mistake or if not, a practical joke of some kind. All the times she had rejected Chat Noir for Adrien and they were one and the same. It made no sense, they couldn't be more opposite, yet there was no denying that where Chat had stood a second before, there now stood Adrien. It took a while for Marinette to gather her thoughts and all the while Adrien waited patiently.

"You're Adrien Agreste.", she finally spoke.

"Not what you were expecting ?", he smirked.

"No, not what I was expecting at all. Still,", Marinette mused, slowly inching her way towards him. "it could be a lot worse. I wonder, would you do me the enourmous favour of closing your eyes ?"

Ever compliant, Adrien cautiously closed his eyes and all but jumped when he felt the brush of Ladybug's lips on his. It was a sensation he had never felt before and he enjoyed every second of it.

Marinette had heard the beeping in her ear as soon as she had started kissing Adrien but she wasn't going to let it ruin this precious moment. Yet she couldn't ignore the detransformation, forcing her to pull away. Adrien still had his eyes closed but found it difficult to let her go, hungry for more. Eventually he relented.

"You can open your eyes now Chaton.", she whispered.

Ladybug had disappeared and Marinette stood in her place. Finally it all made sense. He didn't want to admit it earlier but when he realised he was in love with Marinette, he had felt guilty. Like he was cheating Ladybug somehow. But now he only felt joy and relief. His Lady and Marinette were one and the same. The same brave, incredible, amazing person that he was head over heels for.

"Marinette. Of course it's you. Who else would be crazy enough to jump into the mouth of a T-Rex ?", he revelled in the memory.

"Or throw you across the whole of Paris", Marinette couldn't help but laugh, "But out of all those precious moments we shared. I think this is my favourite one."

She kissed him then. A kiss that made them both breathless, a kiss that reassured her that this was going to last, a kiss that made her thankful she had had a second chance to tell Adrien how she felt and little did she know just how much Adrien felt the same way.


End file.
